A great number of private colleges and universities in the
United States are the products of the Piety Movement and the Great Awakening
during the mid 1700s.

1
A review of the histories of the nationís colleges and universities reveals
that Christian ministers and missionaries had a tremendous influence on higher
education in the United States. Over 70% of U.S. News and World Reportís
top 50 national liberal arts colleges have early connections with Christianity.2
To varying degrees, these colleges have had to reconcile their Christian roots
to an increasingly pluralistic, diverse and disbelieving society.

Colleges with Christian traditions may face increasing
tensions if they adhere to doctrinal mission statements while embracing
religious diversity. A review of the websites of U. S. News and World Reportís
top 50 liberal arts colleges reveals that all have religious diversity
statements. Colleges with Christian ties have historically supported religious
and intellectual freedom in higher education. These same colleges now struggle
with interpreting their Christian traditions in a culture dominated by religious
diversity and skepticism. Many have chosen to exit the struggle, secularize and
relegate their Christian heritage to historical footnotes. "Keeping the
faith" is increasingly unpopular in the culture of academia. Those with
sincerely held religious beliefs in secularized schools hope for the tolerance
accorded atheists and agnostics.

3

Nel Noddings, in Dialogue between Believers and
Unbelievers, suggests believers and unbelievers may unite intellectually and
even grow together,

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yet the idealism of faith communities and the realism of intellectual
communities often generate friction while traveling down the same road.
Christianityís mandate to confront and transform culture is surely at the
heart of interfaith conflict.5
The Judeo-Christian tradition teaches social responsibility, condemnation of
immorality, and cultural transformation.

If a significant portion of a collegeís student body
embraces the notion of Christianity as a cultural transformer, transformation
strategies become important to the college. Daniel Schipani encourages
Christians to be "bilingual," having the ability to communicate
without offending one another and in a culture of disbelief.

6 Those who choose to question the
cultural status quo should do so in a way that allows them to continue to live
well and rightly among those with other convictions.7